Vina del Mar is the now the first of two stops in Chile on the South American tour

Vina del Mar, Chile, February 8, 2013 – The next stop on the South American Continental Beach Volleyball tour has got underway at Vina del Mar, Chile with the action starting on Friday, February 8th and ending on Sunday, February 10th.

The host country is represented by six teams and they will take on 24 international teams from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

“Once again we are facing a very high level of competition here, but we expect our players to challenge for the title,” Chilean Volleyball president Jose Beltran said.

Cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt are two of the pairs aiming for success in front of their home fans and want to add to their success at Santa Fe, Argentina, the first stop on the South American tour.

“We want to win at home with our fans and also keep on top of the South American rankings,” Esteban said. “That is one of our goals to keep preparing ourselves for the World Circuit and the 2014 South American Games.”

Francisca Rivas and Camila Pazdirek meanwhile are the Chilean females most likely to find success after they became the first Chilean pair in 24 years to earn a place on a podium when they won silver in Santa Fe.

“We are working in improving our volleyball,” Rivas said. “We push ourselves every day and today we will keep improving and we hope to be on the podium once more.”

Beltran was also happy to announce that Chile has been entrusted with the organisation of a second stop on the South American circuit.

“The South American Confederation is very satisfied with our work and organisation and how we boost the development of beach volleyball,” he said. “That gives us the chance to organise another South American stop and we will do it at the city of Linares.”